Research and Administrative Staff
Colleen Cameron 
Administrative Assistant III
(916) 734-6340
cicameron@ucdavis.edu
Colleen Cameron serves as a project manager for ongoing research projects and the CHPR Health Services Research Seminar Series. She provides support for research grant proposals and applications. Colleen assists with editing, setting up spreadsheets and provides various types of administrative assistance.
David Chin
Graduate Student Researcher
(916) 734-4793
dlchin@ucdavis.edu
David, a PhD student in the Graduate Group in Epidemiology, has been at the Center since 2008. His research focuses on iatrogenic infection prevention and healthcare quality measurement. His primary emphases are the effect of Clostridium difficile infection and treatment on patient outcomes and the development of quality indicators using administrative data. His other research interests include the impact of state policy on health outcomes. He holds an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz.
Camille Cipri
Project Manager
(916) 734-2672
cscipri@ucdavis.edu
Camille Cipri, BS, Analyst III. Ms. Cipri has worked with the UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research (CHPR) for the past 7 years. She has served as a research assistant and co-project coordinator on various research projects related to depression, cancer, patient advocacy, and nutrition and physical activity. Currently, she is the project manager for the Values and Options in Cancer Care (VOICE) Study funded by the NCI. Her role at the Center has been to provide support for all aspects of research conduct, including: IRB protocol development; data collection, management and analysis; research subject recruitment; and manuscript development and support. She has experience conducting interviews (in-person and telephone), delivering interventions, and qualitative coding.
Nicholas Clark
Research Assistant
nicholas.clark@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Nicholas joined the Center in March 2011. His background is in both social and health sciences. He has served as an Assistant Community Health Program Representative on various research projects related to diabetes, chronic disease management, teen dating violence and healthcare over usage. He also assists the CTSC Evaluation Program with evaluation activities and assists the CTSC Education and Career Development with course management. His role at the Center has been to provide support for data collection, project documentation, project management and analysis, project coordination and manuscript development. He has experience in conducting interviews (in-person and telephone), survey creation and design, qualitative coding and course administration.
Carolyn Coleman 
Financial Manager
(916) 734-4082
cmcoleman@ucdavis.edu
Carolyn joined the Center in 2004 and has served as the Center’s Financial Manager since 2005. She is responsible for providing comprehensive financial oversight and support for the Center in the areas of fiscal management, expenditure control, compliance, and contract and grant administration from pre-award through post-award and closeout.
Carolyn has a BS in Business Administration-Finance from CSUS.
Ginger Cox, R.H.I.T., C.C.S. 
ICD-9/10 Coding and Conversion Analyst
(916) 734-5543
ginger.cox@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Ginger Cox serves as an ICD-9/10 Coding and Conversion Analyst at the CHPR, working on the Support for AHRQ Quality Indicators contract (PI: Patrick Romano). Ms. Cox is a nationally respected expert in ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM/PCS coding. Ms. Cox is a registered Health Information Technician and Certified Coding Specialist, and an AHIMA approved ICD-10/CM/PCS trainer. She has a strong healthcare background with solid understanding of coding and usage of ICD-9-CM code set and its set of official guidelines for coding and reporting.
Ms. Cox is assisting in the preparation for ICD-10 code sets, focusing primarily on ICD codes that define the indicator numerators and selected demominator inclusions and exclusions and support the clinical assessment of the proposed ICD-10 maps by participating in panels to review the specifications. She serves as an in-house resource for the CHPR on ICD coding issues and will represent the Center in various coding-related venues.
Dionne Evans Dean, B.S., M.H.A. 
Project Coordinator
(916) 734-5766
dmevans@ucdavis.edu
Dionne joined the Center in 2006. Currently, Dionne serves as a Senior Project Coordinator, charged with administration and delivery of randomized control trials. Her experience involves recruiting and training community health educators and research assistants, screening and enrolling patients, and database management. She served as coordinator to two multisite studies: the Cancer Health Empowerment for Living without pain (Ca-HELP) study funded by the American Cancer Society and the Colorectal Cancer Interactive Multimedia Computer Program (CRC IMCP) study funded by the National Cancer Institute. Dionne holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from UC Davis and a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Southern California, Sacramento campus. Prior to her work at the Center, Dionne worked as a project assistant for UCSF’s Institute for Health and Aging as a contractor with the California Department of Public Health.
Gisela Escalera 
Community Health Program Representative
(916) 734-2877
gisela.escalera@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Gisela joined the Center as a Health Coach in 2009. She is bilingual, and delivers telemedicine and telephonic patient education in both English and Spanish.
Gisela holds a Master of Social Work degree. Her previous work experience was in the areas of employment services, mental health, and school social work.
Teresa Farley, B.A. 
Management Services Officer
(916) 734-4665
tlfarley@ucdavis.edu
Teresa joined the center in 2004 and brings over 16 years of project and operations management. She currently serves as the Center Management Service Officer providing leadership for the center, managing various research projects and the center daily operations. Teresa holds a bachelors of Arts in Child Development with a minor in Spanish and is currently working on her Masters of Science in Counselor Education at CSUS.
Her current research interests include health care quality, healthcare and prevention in underserved populations, nurse to patient ratios and decision making about hormonal therapy for breast cancer survivors. Teresa is especially interested in community based research, working in collaboration with a variety of providers, community partners and schools to reach underserved and marginalized populations including non-native English speakers. She is bilingual, reading, writing and speaking Spanish fluently.
Dustin Gottfeld
Research Assistant
(916) 734-4615
dustin.gottfeld@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Dustin works as a Research Assistant on a number of research studies, such as Colorectal Cancer Interactive Multimedia Computer Programs and Activating Messages to Enhance Primary Care Practice. Both studies endeavor to educate patients and improve clinician-patient communications through the use of computer interventions. Dustin meets with patients to screen and enroll them as research subjects and conduct research interventions. He studied molecular and cellular biology and earned his Bachelors of Science at UC Davis in Cell Biology.
He has experience in both clinical and laboratory research, including research in Emergency Medicine, metabolomics, and pharmaceutical clinical research.
Suzy Hale 
Financial / Admin Assistant
(916) 734-2818
suzette.hale@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Suzy is a UC Davis veteran, bringing over 27 years of UC Davis and UC Davis Health System experience to her Center role as Financial and Administrative Assistant.
Lizette Macias, M.P.H..
Community Health Program Representative
(916) 734-2399
lizette.macias@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Lizette joined the Center in September 2010. She is bilingual and previously worked on the Randomized Controlled Trial of Tailored Interactive Multimedia to Reduce Colorectal Cancer Screening Disparities doing recruitment and interventions in both English and Spanish. She also worked on the Northern California Healthy Indian Communities Research Partnership doing survey development using LimeSurvey. Currently she is working on two studies, Self Efficacy Enhancing Interviewing Techniques (SEE IT) and Promoting Patient-Centered Counseling to Reduce Inappropriate Diagnostic Tests.
Her background is in health sciences and community health education. She has experience working with the Latino community throughout Sacramento. Her research interests include reproductive health, women’s health and health disparities in underserved populations.
Helene Margolis, Ph.D. 
Principal Investigator
(916) 734-7412
helene.margolis@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Helene Margolis joined the Center in 2010. She is an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine: Division of General Medicine where she has held an appointment since 2005.
She transitioned to UCD full time in 2010 to devote her energies to her University-based research program, facilitated via the award of an ARRA Challenge Grant (‘Projected Heat Wave Magnitudes and Public Health Impacts’; NIEHS), and other collaborative research projects. Over the prior 20 years she held a series of professional positions as a State government-based scientist and policy analyst, during which time she initiated major extramural research programs and established herself as a leader in the area of vulnerable populations’ health research and policy, with an emphasis on the influence of environmental factors, especially air pollution, on the health of children and older adults. She has extensive expertise on climate change health impacts, both as a research scientist and as a public health practitioner on the front lines during climate-related emergencies, including the 2006 California heat wave. Her training in epidemiology (PhD), immunology (MA), and marine sciences (oceanography)/biology/conservation (B.A.) gives her a unique knowledge-base and perspective on issues related to climate change.
Helene Margolis’ research interests include: Public health impacts of climate change and variability, including clinical ramifications and interventions to reduce vulnerability; pathophysiology/mechanisms and influence of environmental factors on natural history of chronic diseases (respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, immunologic); children’s environmental health; pediatric asthma and lung function growth; gene-environment interactions; exposure assessment; and translation of research findings into integrated public health and environmental policies. A particular interest is development of multiple-determinant models of chronic disease and related health outcomes that incorporate individual- and community-level factors and assess vulnerability across the life-span. She is committed to addressing issues of ethics in environmental health research, social inequities in health and environmental policy and access to healthcare.
Dominique Ritley, M.P.H. 
Research Analyst
(916) 734-2681
dritley@ucdavis.edu
Dominique Ritley joined the Center as a research analyst in 2006. Her experience in health policy is most recently applied to a project with the California Department of Managed Health Care, Office of Patient Advocate to evaluate and recommend new measures for inclusion in California's Healthcare Quality Report Card. She also participated in the California Health Benefits Review Program providing medical effectiveness and public health analysis of California legislation impacting health benefits.
Dominique received her MPH in public health policy and administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
Mauricio Rodriguez
Community Health Program Representative
(916) 734-3161
mauricio.rodriguez@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Mauricio has been working for the Center of Healthcare Policy and Research as a Health Coach since October 2010. He’s bicultural, bilingual, and delivers telemedicine education to patients in both English and Spanish.
Mauricio is currently working on a Master of Public Health degree at Drexel University. His previous appointment with UC Davis was with the Department of Psychiatry working on the Men’s Health and Aging Project researching depression.
Meghan Soulsby, M.P.H. 
Analyst
(916) 734-5316
masoulsby@ucdavis.edu
Meghan Soulsby joined the Center January 2011. She serves as the UC Davis project manager for the multi-center, randomized-controlled trial “Better Effectiveness After Transition for Heart Failure” (BEAT-HF) study. Led by UCLA, this study examines the effects of enhanced inpatient education coupled with post-discharge telephone follow-up and remote telemonitoring on readmission rates for elderly patients with heart failure.
Meghan also works as a research analyst on a variety of projects, including a recent CDC-funded project examining the scope and burden of prescription opioid misuse and overdose, and the effectiveness of state-run programs and policies to reduce the rate of misuse and overdose. During the legislative season, Meghan works on the California Health Benefits Review Program, providing public health analyses of California legislation impacting health benefits. Meghan received an MPH from the Boston University School of Public Health with a focus on community health sciences.
Laura Bates Sterner 
CHPR Analyst
Associate Managing Editor
Journal of General Internal Medicine
(916) 734-7918
lbsterner@ucdavis.edu
Laura Bates Sterner came to the Center in late January of 2007 and assumed her current role in July 2007. She brings a variety of relevant experience to the Center.
Laura is responsible for the Center's communications, including print and internet. She is a member of the CHPR's Grants Development team. Laura also provides assistance as needed to the Director and Management Services Officer, and handles a variety of special projects including events planning and management.
Currently, she also functions as an Associate Managing Editor of the Journal for General Internal Medicine.
Daniel J. Tancredi, Ph. D. 
Assistant Professor (In Residence) of Pediatrics
(916) 734-3293
djtancredi@ucdavis.edu
Daniel Tancredi joined the Center in 2002, after gaining extensive experience in the design, implementation and analysis of health services and epidemiological research at Rush University Medical Center. Formally trained as a mathematical statistician at the University of Illinois at Chicago, his research interests include effective study designs and analysis plans for observational and experimental studies. He has particular interest in the analysis of correlated data, as arise in clinic-randomized trials, settings with repeated measurements and surveys that use complex probability sampling techniques.
In 2007 Daniel Tancredi accepted a faculty appointment in the UC Davis School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics. A large part of his new role continues to be collaboration with investigators at the Center, where his faculty office is located.
Benjamin Timmons 
Information Systems
(916) 734-7413
bwtimmons@ucdavis.edu
Ben has worked in Academic Technology Support since 1991. Since 1998, he has focused on providing support for a number of research projects, some with national scope. Ben works with research investigators and staff to devise systems and resources to meet the qualitative and quantitative needs of each project.
Ben is increasingly focused on data, workstation and network security. Protecting data integrity, especially Patient Health Information (PHI) is of utmost importance, given both Federal mandates like HIPPA and the increase in healthcare data breaches. Techniques, such as workstation security, full-disk, file-based and email encryption increase this security
Prior to joining UC Davis in 2000, Ben worked at Boston College focusing on academic support and two national community healthcare research projects. Before that Ben worked at Simmons College, where he helped to form the Microcomputer Support Center and implement PC-based educational technology as well as the first PC-based network on campus.
Liz Vice
Project Manager
(916) 734-2463
elizabeth.vice@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Liz Vice joined the Center of Healthcare Policy and Research in July 2012 and currently works as Project Manager on the Quality Indicator™ contract sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Liz has a Bachelor's Degree in Government from California State University, Sacramento. She has 18 years of project management, contract compliance, healthcare policy and managed care operations experience to provide to the CHPR team. She spent the last 6 years as a consultant for area law firms managing and developing client databases, providing staff management guidance, policy and procedure development and paralegal services.
She has experience with the state legislative process, Department of Defense, Veteran's Adminstration, Health Affairs and Military Treatment Facility management. She has an interest in public policy, healthcare advocacy and law.
Guibo Xing, Ph. D. 
Senior Statistician
(916) 734-6895
gbxing@ucdavis.edu
Guibo joined the Center as a statistician in March 2003. He has been providing statistical support primarily to faculties, fellows and residents from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has used his statistical skills of survival analysis and categorical data analysis on various research projects, including Association of Cancer Risks with Obstetrical Delivery, Trauma during Pregnancy and Neonatal Outcome, and Trends of Hysterectomy Incidence, Type, and Complications. Databases that he uses for those studies include OSHPD hospital discharge data, infant birth and death certificates, and California Cancer Registry data. He also had experience doing econometric analysis using models such as time-series models, panel data models, count data models, selection models, hurdle models and two-part models.
Zhuo Yang, M.Sc. 
Health Economics/Statistical Analyst
(916) 734-7879
zhuyang@ucdavis.edu
Zhuo Yang joined the center in 2010. He received Master’s level training in both Health Economics in University of York, UK and Toxicology and Epidemiology in New York University. He has undertaken cost-effectiveness modeling work and statistical analysis of large datasets in a variety of projects, including breast cancer screening policy analysis, gene-profiling assay evaluation for personalized chemotherapy, opioid overdose prevention policies, CT vs. ultrasound for kidney stone detection, and aggressive surgical intervention for colorectal cancer liver metastasis. He has also been working on programing 2 user-friendly health policy analysis tools to support health policy decision making on particular health programs for the Center for Disease Control and the State Department of Public Health. Zhuo is particularly interested in assisting clinicians and health managers to develop cost-effectiveness model to analyze healthcare technology, interventions and policies
Pat Zrelak, Ph.D., C.N.R.N., C.N.A.A., B.C. 
Administrative Nurse Researcher
(916) 734-8931
pazrelak@ucdavis.edu
Pat joined the center in 2006. She currently works on the Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) Project sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Pat holds a PhD in Epidemiology from UC Davis as well as a MS in Health Science and BS in Nursing. She is the administrative nurse for the UC Davis Stroke Program, and has over 25 years of experience in healthcare, primarily in management and education. Pat is board certified in Advanced Nursing Administration (CNNA, BC) and is a Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN). Research interests include stroke and dementia.
Besides working at UC Davis, Pat holds a faculty position at Samuel Merritt College where she teaches several courses including Research Methods and Biostatistics & Epidemiology.
